BluCurrent's Pierson to Retire; Tabor to Take Lead

BluCurrent's Pierson to Retire; Tabor to Take Lead

posted by Sharon Bahr
on Thu, 04/25/2013 - 10:34am

After 38 years of service to the members of BluCurrent Credit Union (Springfield, MO), Steve Pierson will retire as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective June 30, 2013. Pierson is only the second president in the credit union’s 84 year history.

The BluCurrent Board of Directors also announced that BluCurrent Executive Vice President, Craig Tabor, will become president and CEO upon Pierson’s retirement.

“As a credit union, we exist to serve our member-owners,” noted Pierson. “I hope by my actions over the last 38 years, I’ve served our members well and brought value to them and their families.”

Pierson joined the credit union in 1975, then called Postal Federal Employees Credit Union, and in 1977 he became President & CEO. At that time, the credit union had one branch, $8 million in assets, and served about 3,500 members, the majority being employees of the U.S. Postal Service. Today, BluCurrent is Springfield’s largest credit union with over $148 million in assets and nearly 20,000 members.

Under Pierson’s leadership, BluCurrent expanded from an employee-based credit union to one that extends membership to those who live or work in 10 southwest Missouri counties. During his tenure, BluCurrent changed its name to better reflect their growing membership base, and grew its branch offices from 1 to 6 locations. The credit union’s growth has been driven by a full menu of financial services and market leading rates and terms on consumer loans, mortgage loans and business loans.

Pierson, a 1970 graduate of Missouri State University, has been an active leader in the local, state and national credit union movement. He served on the Boards of the Missouri Credit Union Association and Missouri Corporate Credit Union. In 1992 he received his Certified Credit Union Executive (C.C.U.E.) designation, a hallmark of professional credit union achievement that teaches advanced credit union management and operations techniques.

Pierson is also an active member of the Rotary Club of Springfield and regularly attends James River Assembly. He and his wife of 42 years, Connie, plan to travel and enjoy their family during retirement.

“I’ll miss working with the BluCurrent team, some of whom I’ve worked closely with for over 2 decades,” noted Pierson. “But I’m really looking forward to the extra time I’ll soon have to spend with my wife and eight grandchildren.”

Pierson’s successor, Craig Tabor, is a 1988 graduate of Angelo State University with more than 23 years of credit union experience. Prior to joining BluCurrent’s management team in 2004, Tabor was an Area Manager for Ent Federal Credit Union in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Vice President of Operations for Qualtrust Credit Union in San Angelo, Texas. He obtained his C.C.U.E. certification in 1998, and is a graduate of Southwest CUNA Management School.

“I consider it a tremendous honor to be chosen to help lead such a great credit union,” stated Tabor. “I’m so thankful for all Steve has done to prepare me for this transition – I’m definitely going to miss seeing him in the office.”

Tabor has spent the last few months working closely with Pierson to prepare for his transition to Chief Executive Officer. He is active in the Springfield Chapter of Credit Unions, Missouri Credit Union Association, Lighthouse Christian Academy, LCA Speech & Debate, and the Springfield Chamber of Commerce.